Improvement in hay-elevating forks



y NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.IAMEs A. WHITNEY, 0E MARYLAND, NEw YoEK.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAY-ELEVATING FORKS.

. Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 413,939, dated August 23, 1864.

To otll whom /Ztmay concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs A. WHITNEY, of Maryland, in the county of Otsego and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Horse Hay-Forks; and I do herebydeclare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description ot' the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making 'a part of this speciticatiomin which- Figure l is a perspective view, representing the apparatus in position for lifting the hay. Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing the apparatus in the saine position as in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side sectional viewshowing the position ot' the apparatus when the fork is tilted to discharge its load.

The object ot' this invention is to obtain a hay-elevator in which the bail usually employed in such devices is dispensed with, the

invention consisting in so applying the draft or lifting rope to the fork that the desired object is accomplished, all as will be hereinafter fully described.

'lo enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

The tines a of the fork are secured in the head B in the usual manner. At the center ot' the head B is secured the tongue C, which may be made ot' malleableized cast-iron, and

one at each side-which project out from the said end, and in the back ofthe said tongue v there is a longitudinal groove, r.

The draft-rope F is provided with a catch, marked n el m inthe drawings, and placed at a suitable distance from the lower end ot' the said rope. One end of this catch is formed into a hook, a, which hooks over the end of the tongue C, between the lips s s, during the operation of lifting the hay, the lips s s serving to keep the said hook from slipping oit' sidewise. The opposit-e end of the catch is extended to form an arm or lever, m, to which the tripping-cord o is attached. Now, then, the end of the draft-rope F being attached to the spur e, as described, the said rope is passed lengthwise of the tongue C, and lies in the groove r. The catch d n m, being attached to the draft-rope F at the proper place, has its hook u placed over the 'end ot' the tongue O, as before mentioned, by which means that portion ofthe draft-rope'F which is below the catch n d m is conned close to the tongue O, and the fork is suspended' from the upper end of the said tongue. The stem d of the catch n d m is hollow or tubular, and the draft-rope F, being passed through the same, is firmly secured thereto either 'by wedges or rivets. It will be noticed that, the stem d ot' the said catch being length wiseot' the rope F, the strain ou the said rope in lifting will have a tendency to retain the hook n in its hold o n the end of the tongue C until the catch is operated by pulling down ward on the arm m.

Such being the construction of the invention, it is evident that its operation will be as follows: The tines abeing inserted in the hay to be lifted, and the'hook n being hooked over the end ot' the tongue (l, as described, the' lifting-power is applied by means ofthe usual appliances, and the mass is elevated to the required height. The tripping-cord o is then pulled downward, which depresses the arm m of theA catch a dim, and of course disengages the hook end i'rom the end of the tongue (l, thus changing the point otsuspension from the upper end ot' the tongue C to the spur c, on which the weight of the load, together with that ot' the fork itself, tilts the fork, and thus discharges the load.

I do not claim pivoting the head ot'a hayelevating fork to a bail or handle, the object of my invention being to dispense with such pivoted bail or handle altogether; but,

Having thus described my said invention,

what Irclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Attaching the draft-rope AF directly to the fork at or near its head B, when the said rope i operates in connection with the tongue C, rigidly secured to the head B, and with a catch,

n d m, or its equivalent, as shown, whereby I am enabled to dispense with the bail usually employed in such devices, all for the purpose and in the manner substantially as herein set l 

